Broken Crown
by teeceecee
Summary: When dangerous and mysterious forces declare war on Corona, the whole royal family went into hiding, except one. The Princess. Presumed dead but saved by a rogue, she must now set out on a journey to find her family, and on the way discover more about the wicked forces that have seized Corona and how her enigmatic, evasive savior ties to it. AU.
1. Corona On Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of The Guardians or Tangled, just this respective plot.**

**A/N: Hello! I know this may seem a bit different than what I usually write but I blame Tumblr for fostering my sudden interest in Jackunzel with all the amazing fan art and quotes. One could even say Jack and Punz are becoming my ultimate OTP. Of course, with fangirling came plot bunnies and with plot bunnies... Well, why would this story be written then? Oh, and I also have this little quirk of recommending a song for a chapter to give readers the vibes for this story, I hope you'll listen to it! Please, listen to:**

**Release The Panic - Red**

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Rapunzel ran for her life.

She ran as fast as she could, narrowly missing a fiery beam that came crashing down, throwing debris and smoke into the already acrid air. Coughing, she made her way down a hall, where the grim portraits of her ancestors hung limp and half disintegrated by the fire. The paint bubbled and cracked, sounding much like the broken discord of her heavy breathing.

A crash sounded behind her and Rapunzel sped, her long braided hair trailing behind her like a viper. She thanked her lucky stars that she had the sense to braid it before going to bed as she had never anticipated anything like this happening.

It was all a blur but Rapunzel could still piece together the first parts of the evening.

The princess of Corona remembered being fast asleep before hearing a loud commotion outside the palace windows. She had awoken to find a fierce battle commencing below in the courtyard and spied the palace guards being attacked by mysterious hooded men.

A loud banging on her door had sounded and she instinctively ducked behind her huge poster bed, fearful of whom it could it be.

"Milady! Open the door, the castle is under siege!" said the voice of one of her chambermaids. Releasing a breath, she quickly ran to the door and swung it opened, revealing the scared face of a young girl barely her age.

"What's happening?" she questioned as she let herself be led by the elbow.

"We have no idea, one minute everything was calm as crystal blue water and the next…" she trailed off, rounding a sharp bend to the communal hallways where the servants would carry the washing and linen.

"…the next, they started attacking," she cried, her brown eyes wide with fear.

"Who is 'they'?" she questioned, as a loud booming sound could be heard from the giant dome overhead them.

Rapunzel watched in fear as the ancient painted dome fell away, revealing bits and pieces of the night sky. The tugging on her elbow increased.

"Now is not the time, hurry-"

Suddenly, the very same hooded figures launched themselves in through the broken plaster, landing onto the cold marble floor. Rapunzel shrieked as she felt herself being pushed to the doorway.

"Go, go, your highness! I'll distract them and-

The princess came back from her memories, shaking her head at the unwanted gruesome images of the maid's face just before an arrow plunged into her neck.

Racing down the hallway, she could vaguely hear the sounds of guards yelling.

"Get the royal family – sir, there's a carriage waiting – we have to get there –"

"I'm not leaving without our own daughter!"

Rapunzel's green eyes widened as she heard the familiar tone of her mother. "Mother! Father!" she cried as the foreboding sound of horse feet dimmed. Tears rushed to her eyes as she felt a pair of arms restrict around her. "Your highness…Princess Rapunzel! There's another carriage waiting for you, if you would just-"

The guard's words ceased suddenly and Rapunzel screamed. Blood fell on her hands from the guards' pierced chest. The man dropped dead like a wooden log and Rapunzel groaned softly, accidentally getting more of his blood on her arms.

A hooded figure was suddenly making its way towards her, its breathing menacing. All around her, Rapunzel could see nothing but the sudden flames caused by this bunch of maniacal thugs.

Curtains were falling, carpets were smoking and Rapunzel couldn't see or hear anything that indicated she wasn't the only one in this nightmare.

She stumbled back, the hem of her silk nightgown smoking slightly.

"W-What do you want with me?" she stammered as the silent entity crept closer and out of the darkness, two more of his comrades materialized.

Rapunzel felt the hot wood wall collide with her back as she tried to think of ways to escape. In vain, the princess tried to remember what few defense moves that one of the guards had taught her but it was futile.

The figure lashed out and she screamed when she felt a cold hand wrap around her dainty wrist.

Suddenly, the hand gripping hard around hers was whisked away and she looked up just in time to see a masked silhouette twisting the hooded figure's hand before using his body and ramming through another one of the thugs' comrades.

The other hooded figure staggered and the masked man harshly delivered a roundhouse kick straight to his gut. Using his grip still on the offending hooded figure's hand, he twisted around and, by the momentum of the swing, threw the man to his other partner.

The two of them fell in a heap and Rapunzel gasped. The masked man seemed to have noticed her and stalked towards her. The princess's head snapped up as she shielded her face.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered.

"I'm not going to, please princess, follow me," a deep voice resonated as Rapunzel lowered her hands.

"What-"

She didn't have time to ask as the masked stranger grabbed her by the arm and led her to one of the corridors. Rapunzel immediately recognized this path.

"Stop! We'll be falling straight into the-"

The stranger nodded. "I know," was all he said.

"Are you _crazy?_" she screeched over the din of the dangerously crackling flames.

In response he merely threw her a look over his shoulder and Rapunzel nearly flinched when she caught sight of his gaze.

It was blue, cold and calculating.

In the flames, his hair looked silver almost white, although she could be hallucinating from the lack of oxygen or the drifting smoke.

Their steps neared one of the forbidden hallways where Rapunzel wasn't allowed to go near, despite her status.

"Stop, please, I don't want to-

"Princess," he interjected urgently as they neared the doomed doorway.

"Do you trust me?"

Rapunzel felt like smacking the upside of his head. "Of course not," she screeched. "Why should I when-

_Click._

The masked man threw the door open and all Rapunzel could see was a dark abyss below – the castle's moat.

His hand tightened upon hers as he pulled her in for a heart stopping, daring jump.

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**Whew, that was fast paced. Also, don't worry, this isn't the main part of the story...its just a precursor before the real story starts ;) I hope you guys liked it and tell me what you think!**

**-Clare**


	2. Lengthy Ideas

**Hi, everyone! I find myself now completely in love with Jackunzel, I can't even... My feels, they're too much. Anyway, to _Guest_, you can rest assured, it'll be one hell of a ride ;) Thank you all for your lovely support and remember, cookies goes to those who favorite or follow but extra huge double chocolate cookies goes to those who review! Listen to:**

**Introduce A Little Anarchy - Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard**

* * *

There was a brief second in time when Rapunzel's terrified green eyes met his blue ones. A moment of disturbing clarity, where every nanosecond stretched until…

Rapunzel's body screamed in protest once it hit the icy cold water and darkness momentarily clouded her vision. Unconsciously, her mouth opened to scream and she vaguely wondered if she could be dying any second now, as the movements in her arms and legs slowed and her passageways burned with frozen fire.

She drifted for a minute before time caught on and the full impact alerted her brain. She kicked and tried to get a sense of where she was. The panic was increasing like staccato beats behind her eyes.

Just before she succumbed to the icy numbness of the moat, she felt a hand wrapped around her waist and a strong tug before her head sliced through the chilling water. She gasped and spluttered but immediately a hand came to cover her mouth.

Rapunzel felt like a vein was about to burst from her temple as she pushed the offending hand away, but it only clamped on tighter.

"Don't panic, they're right above us," he whispered, breath hot and near her ear.

True enough, when she stared above her, all she could see was the cris-crossing of the moat's wooden dock blocking the night sky, letting slivers of light fall onto her terrified expression. The sound of boots ahead made Rapunzel and her savior slink closer to the water. A shadow was thrown over them and Rapunzel could see the horrible ruffian, standing above with his cronies.

"We've lost the flower," one of them said.

A loud cussing could be heard in a foreign language that Rapunzel didn't know.

"…would be angry if he found out…" another voice said. The men argued silently, turning around and Rapunzel watched as their feet disappeared from above them.

The masked stranger waited for a beat before cautiously removing his hand. Immediately, Rapunzel gave a hacking cough and water flowed from her mouth and nostrils, burning her passageways like liquid fire.

The stranger looked at her in concern before mouthing, "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer him back as she concentrated on getting rid of the last vestiges of water in her system. She nodded cautiously as he took her hand and led her from under the wooden dock, into the open night air.

Rapunzel tried to keep afloat, but she wasn't even a swimmer to begin with and if it wasn't for his hand on hers, she would have found herself under the waters' surface again.

Sensing her distress, he turned. "Can you swim?" he asked from which she shook her head.

He huffed as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and she instinctively put her arms around his neck. Using this newer, more hydrodynamic position, they cut through the water easily and he gently deposited her on the edge of the water.

Wringing water from her hair she gave a disgruntled groan.

It was silent as she tried regrouping her thoughts, phrasing her questions on what's actually happening, who were those men but instead…

"Who are you?"

The masked man jerked his head upward and she gave him a determined look.

"Who are you?" she asked again, this time a little stronger.

The stranger's hair glimmered under the lights and she was shock to see that it really did resemble ivory. The smoke wasn't playing tricks on her eyes.

He sighed before removing his mask. Inch by inch, pale skin came into view, then a strong jaw line and…

His piercing blue eyes bore into hers.

"My name is Jack Overland," he said and her eyes grew wider. Illuminated by the burning castle behind him, he looked like a pale angel of destruction, sent down to condemn mortals of their sins.

"P-princess Rapunzel," she replied, coming to her senses.

Jack gave her an amused look. "I think I would already know that, princess," he said and for the first time in this dreadful night, she blushed.

"Sorry, it's just that tonight and…what exactly happened?" she said, her lip quivering with all the suppress fear that bubbled to the surface.

His gaze immediately hardened. "I don't know exactly why but-"

"Are you one of the guards?" she asked as she tried to remember ever seeing his face in the palace before.

Jack shook his head. "Far from that, princess."

Her brow furrowed. "Then why did you s-save me from the…" she trailed of as she cast a fearful gaze to the castle.

Infinitesimally, his jaw tightened as he gave her a furtive glance. "I believe that getting away from here would be a smarter decision before I start telling you what I know."

That was all the warning he gave before standing up. Rapunzel followed suit, her brow knitting in confusion at his attitude change.

Just as she was about to open her mouth and argue, a terrifying voice sounded from beside the moat. Directly parallel from their stance on the waters' edge.

"Halt! Men, it's the princess!"

Rapunzel gasped and before she could react, Jack had taken her hand and they were racing down the dirt path leading to the towns outside of Corona.

"Lower the gates! Don't let them get away!" another rough voice shouted and Rapunzel looked up in time to see the castles' spiked gates rolling down at an alarming rate.

"Jack," Rapunzel said in a panicked tone. "The gates!"

Jack threw her a look of consternation. His grip tightened around hers and they quickened their speed. "Hang on, Princess, we're almost there."

The gateway loomed like a colossal giant in the fiery night, ready to trap them in its depths. A sudden whizzing sound passed Jack's ear and he turned to see a multitude of cloaked figures chasing after them, bows in hand and arrows being shot at a rapid pace.

Jack pulled Rapunzel closer to him, inadvertently shielding her body with his from the racing arrows. The gates were just a few feet away and the hooded nightmares above the observation tower were racing against the aged wooden wheel to hasten the lowering of the gates.

"Jack, we're not going to make it," Rapunzel cried.

"Have a little faith, Princess," nearing the gate, they saw that there was barely enough room to slid under and escape so Jack did the unthinkable.

He pushed Rapunzel, inexplicably lowering her bodies' centre of gravity and slid her through. Rapunzel's shrill shout filled the air as she felt the dirt ground scraping her knees and elbows. She quickly scrambled to her feet as she saw through the wooden fences, Jack running at an almost inhumane speed towards the space that was inches from the ground.

"Jack!" she screamed as she saw an arrow fly through and just before the sharp ends of the gate could connect with the ground…

Her savior managed to slide through.

Grunting, he stood up and Rapunzel instinctively shot out her trembling hand for him to hold. He took it and in a heartbeat, they were racing down the dirt path. Rapunzel turned back to see the dreaded cloaked men brandishing their weapons furiously as some of them cursed and yelled at their retreating figures.

Jack tugged on her wrist. "Hurry, Princess, the gates could open any minute."

Rapunzel gasped when she heard the tell tale loud creak of the castle gates opening and she was sure that once the gap got big enough, the men would be hot on their heels.

They tore down an abandoned street, the air punctuated by their heavy breathing and random screams of the villagers. Rapunzel panted, the ground beating her bare soles blue.

"Jack- I… Where are we going?" she managed to get out in between huffs.

In answer, he turned to the market place where Rapunzel could make out the panic chaos that was Corona under this unexpected impediment.

They burst through the marketplace and it was like hell reincarnate. People were pushing and shoving, the smell of smoke and the glare of the fire ravaging everything in sight. Everybody was too busy trying to save themselves and their family that they didn't notice Corona's own princess, right beside them.

"Princess, if we could just make it-"

Jack's suggestion was cut off by loud neighing and everyone simultaneously turned to see imposing dark horsemen, atop horses as inky as the night sky brandishing torches of fire that they set lit to everything in sight.

The people shrieked and everyone dove for cover from the incoming flames.

Rapunzel stared in shock at the blatant cruelty these strangers showed her people.

"Where is the princess?" one of the horsemen roared.

The only response they got was more shrieking and people pleading, some of them escaping through whatever space they could find that weren't blocked by the ruffians. Jack pulled Rapunzel close to him once more.

"C'mon princess, we have to go," he urged.

"B-bu…my people…"

"There's no time!"

He urgently led them to the edge of the marketplace, where Rapunzel managed to catch one last glimpse of the royal family mural that was a prized and treasured gift from one of the best German mosaic makers in all of Europe. She gave it one last desperate gaze before turning back to attention, Jack's grip on her hand tight enough to cut off its circulation.

They rounded a bend where a stable with horses loomed ahead. Rapunzel's eyes widened.

"Jack…wha-what are we going to do?"

"What do you think we're going to do?" he questioned before reaching a brown mare. Throwing Rapunzel onto the horse, he mounted on it, grabbed the reins and they sped away.

Rapunzel gave an inward shriek as she flailed for a minute before Jack's hand steadied her and she gripped the horse's mane.

"Hang on, Princess," he said as he steered them to the road that led to the bridge over Corona. Within feet of reaching the bridge, the sounds of galloping reached their ears and they both turn to see about three of the ruffians chasing them by horse.

Jack swore under his breath as he urged the horse faster. Rapunzel stifled a scream when she heard the disturbingly familiar whizz of the arrow fly by. Jack then steered the horse to run in a zig-zag motion so that the thugs couldn't get a clear shot.

Rapunzel wobbled and inhaled sharply as she nearly slipped off the horse yet again. She looked up to see a grim determination set in his face as he turned the sharp bend and…

They were over the bridge.

The men behind them never slowed down, continuing to shoot their weapons and – as Rapunzel thought fearfully – gaining momentum on them.

Jack quickly thought of the consequences, of how he stood against them and truth be told, the comparison was bleak. He was easily outnumbered by three to one and a sharp pain in his side told him that whatever hasty injury he had suffered, made it unwise to go against three strong thugs alone.

Plus, with the princess here, he had no choice, seeing as she was considered a weak spot...

His thoughts then strayed to the forest ahead where he knew he would have a harder time shaking off the thugs because the forest was too hard to maneuver on horseback, especially on a moonless light like this.

_Manny, help me,_ he thought as he spied the edge of the bridge.

An idea came to him - a possibly suicidal, ridiculous, life threatening notion…but an idea nonetheless.

"Hey, Princess, how do you feel about the river below?"

"Wha-Ja…No! You can't be thinking…it's too danger-"

Knowing that the Princess would kill him later for this, he balanced precariously on the horse and snaked his arm around her waist.

"Jack, I am not… Are you crazy?"

He didn't let her answer as he used the momentum of the horses' run and, gripping his arms tightly around the thrashing princess; he used the natural agility that he had been gifted with and leapt to the edge of the bridge where they balanced for a minute.

The thugs halted and they gave him a curious stare. Some of them had their weapons raised, ready to fire at him.

He turned around and with his arm around the Princess; he gave them a salute and a smirk before…

"_Jaaaccckkk!_" Rapunzel screamed as she felt herself free falling from the ledge.

Jack then wrapped his hands around her hair that had come loose from its braid and swung it catching the precipitate of a sharp rock. He silently thanked whoever was listening that her hair was long and strong enough to hold the both of them.

They came to a screeching stop and Jack quickly used the impulse of the swing to crash his foot into a nearby loose rock about the size of a human. The rock tipped sideways then fell into the river water with a loud splash.

Jack flattened his body against the rock and this time, Rapunzel had more sense to stay quiet as she realized what he was doing.

They both clung to the rough rocks as they held their breaths.


	3. Sharp Verisimilitude

**Okay, I decided that the heart pumping action should gave way to...suspense. I hope you guys enjoy it and always know that your support always encourage me. Listen to:**

**Stealth - Jasper Kyd (perfect for the suspenseful truth Jack tells Punz)**

* * *

Rapunzel could feel her heart beating fast as she cowered closer to the rocks when she saw a silhouette of a ruffian looking down to where the princess and her guard presumably fell to their deaths. The man grunted and he turned to look at his comrades.

"It's too dark, I can't see a thing."

"Maybe the impact of the water would have killed the both of them?" a voice suggested.

"_She_ specifically said she wanted the Flower alive," another one argued.

"Well, we'll just have to tell her the truth then," a harsh, different voice added.

"C'mon men, we still have the Corona castle to loot," the first one said and beside Jack, Rapunzel visibly bristled.

Jack gave her a warning look as they heard the voices of the men retreating for the second time that night. The both of them waited for a beat before moving. Jack handed her the second strand of her strange long hair and Rapunzel was just about to use it to pull herself over the sharp edge of the rocks when another figure leaned down, this time, directly above them.

If it weren't for Jack's tight, warning grip, Rapunzel would've given a loud shriek of surprise. They hid themselves in the shadows once more. The looming figure surveyed the now calm river and after a moment, straightened and walked away.

Rapunzel gave Jack a look that said 'what the hell?' and Jack's expression mirrored hers. Using his keen sense of hearing, Jack tried to sense whether there were any men left hanging atop the bridge. When nothing reached his ears, he gave a nod to Rapunzel, who resumed pulling herself up with her hair.

Once over the ledge, she peeked over to see that the bridge was empty before hoisting herself over the side. She turned to help Jack up and her savior graciously accepted her help.

When he had finally hoisted himself over the side, albeit with a look of pain written on his features, that's when Rapunzel noticed an abnormal object sticking out from his side.

"Jack, your side," she said in a whisper of horror.

He slumped against the wall before nodding, his hand already fumbling with the arrow lodged in his side. "It's alright, it didn't puncture anything major."

"What do you mean it didn't 'puncture anything major'?" Rapunzel said in a scared whisper as she helped him extract the bloody arrow and threw it to her side. "You have an arrow sticking out of you; it's bound to have hit something."

Jack gave her a pained expression before ripping up a part of his already torn shirt and using it as a wad to keep the pressure on his wound. "Trust me, Princess, it's nothing."

He then glanced at the discarded arrow by her side with a thoughtful expression before quietly placing the arrow into his leather boot. Jack grimaced as he gave her another one of his not so convincing smiles.

"Nothing? I-oh, hell J-Jack, you're starting to bleed," she said in a terrified tone as she placed her hand over his, helping him to apply pressure.

"I think that's what happens when you get hurt," he tried to say in a scathing tone but it only came out as a harsh whisper.

Jack looked up and caught the Princess's wide green eyes on him.

"I can help heal you."

Jack lifted up his brow. "Oh, can you?"

She scowled as she gave him a nod. "C'mon, I can't do this here with those terrible thugs still in the kingdom, they'll notice it."

Jack furrowed his brow but didn't say anything as he tried to stand. Seeing that the piercing at his side managed to avoid a major artery, he could still walk, but the pain…it hurt like something that rhymed with 'father ducker'.

Seeing his slight wobble, Rapunzel went to help him but Jack just pushed her hands away. "It's okay Princess, I'm fine," he even gave her a smirk for extra measure. "See?"

Relenting, she dropped her hands and gave him a tight smile. "Okay," she whispered and followed him when they made their way across the bridge.

The forest loomed ahead, dark and mysterious. Rapunzel had to suppress a shiver she felt when she laid her eyes on the mass of dark trees. Turning back, she caught sight of a burning Corona and unwillingly, tears sprung to her eyes.

How could things have changed so much in just a blink of an eye?

Now, here she was, presumed dead, separated from her family and her whole home burnt to rubble and desecrated by those...those idiotic ruffians. Part of Rapunzel was trembling in anger, the other in shock. Who were those men?

She wanted to turn and ask her savior those questions but seeing as how he was slightly…incapicated at the moment, she decided to ask when he was better.

The bridge ended to a well worn pathway that travelers used to send in their goods or trades with Corona. The dirt brushed against her bare feet but Rapunzel didn't seem to notice. All she was focused on was the thought of her parents.

Jack led them to a thicket of trees down another winding path that was a good feet away from the original path but was still visible to them should they need a quick escape. Rapunzel saw that it resembled a small clearing completed with fallen logs that made up a semi circle of some sort.

"What is this place?" she questioned in a whisper, not wanting to disturb the haunting yet peaceful quality the forest had in the dead of night.

"You've never even been to the forest beyond Corona?" Jack asked with a question of his own.

In response, Rapunzel shook her head.

"Huh, that's strange," Jack muttered under his breath but Rapunzel heard it and she frowned.

"My…parents, they…never allowed me to venture out of the castle," she clarified. "I guess you could say they were a little bit," she gestured with her hands, "overprotective."

Jack gave her an appraising look and what he saw was a young girl with green eyes the color of spring and a surprising length of long blonde hair that touched the forest ground. Her nightgown was ripped and burnt and the skin on her shins bare and feet were raw, but that didn't seem to affect her at all.

All in all, she did look like a royal that hasn't been out of the castle in her whole life. Jack sighed; this would be harder than he thought.

"Alright, Princess, how's about that healing you said?" his gruff voice brought her back and she startled before wrapping her hands around her hair.

"O-Okay," she said in an uncertain tone. "Just…promise me you won't freak out."

Jack gave her a confused stare but nodded. "Sure, unless of course you started shooting healing rays out of your eyes then I don't think I could not freak out."

She shook her head. "Oh, it's far from that."

Rapunzel then sat Jack down on one of the rotten wood and proceeded to wrap her hair around his wounded side.

"Hey, wh-"

Jack trailed off when he heard her sweet voice singing.

"_Flower, gleam and glow, let your power shine_," she started and Jack froze in shock, noting that her hair suddenly had a life of its own and was shining with an ethereal glow.

"_Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine,_" Jack stared in blatant shock as the glow ran from the roots of her hair to all around him.

"_Heal what has been hurt, change the fates' design, save what has been lost…"_

Weird, thought Jack as slowly but surely the glow began to cover his wound. His mouth fell open.

He felt the strangest sensation, almost as if warm sunlight were being bathed onto his wound, warming him from the inside…

"_Bring back what once was mine_," her tone dropped and the glow began to fade.

"_What once was mine…"_

Rapunzel opened her eyes as she delicately unwrapped her hair from his waist.

"There, all done," she said in a cheerful voice and Jack noticed that her face was even more radiant now after her incantation, like the warmth of an ember was pulsating beneath her skin.

Mouth still agape, Jack traced his hand over his side, trying to feel the wound. He even glanced down at it and even though it was stupid, he had half expected to see the still pierced skin.

Instead, all that greeted him was a smooth, unblemished stretch of skin.

He turned to her, surprise and shock plainly scribbled on his features. He gulped.

For once in his life, Jack Overland was stunned into silence.

"Are you feeling better, Jack?" she questioned tentatively.

Jack opened and closed his mouth, looking very much like a fish out of water as he stared at her with wide blue eyes.

"I-I think I'm fine," he managed to stutter out and she threw him a nervous look.

The Princess threw him a look. "It's okay, you don't have to say it, I know what you think of me," she said in a defeated sigh. "You think I'm weird aren't I?"

Jack blinked before shaking his head vehemently when what she said sunk in. "No…I didn't think that, Princess," he clarified. "I just found it a very…rare ability."

He then gave her a small smile as his fingers unconsciously brush his side again. "Thank you."

Rapunzel gave him a bright smile. "You're very welcome."

They then lapsed into silence before Jack broke it with a hesitantly asked question.

"Does anybody else know about your…ability?"

She gave him a dubious look but shook her head. "I've learned to keep it well hidden…I-I don't know why, I'm just…a little paranoid if anybody ever found out," Rapunzel said, twirling a strand of her long blond hair with a slim finger. Jack nodded. He understood paranoia well enough.

"So, that's why you wouldn't cut it," Jack said jokingly. Rapunzel gave him a half smile.

"I guess you could say that," she said as she ran her fingers through a shorter patch of hair almost thoughtlessly before stopping herself. Her gaze hardened.

Jack noticed her subtle change in attitude but didn't voice it, giving her time to sort her feelings out. A pregnant pause followed suite where the two of them just sat in the darkened forest, unsure of what to say to the other.

"The men that attacked Corona, those were the henchmen of Pitch Black," Jack said, cutting through the silence.

Rapunzel snapped her head up to look at him, curiosity mingled with anger simmering on her features.

"Who's Pitch?"

"Not who, more likely what," Jack replied curtly. "He is known as many things; the Fallen, _der dunkle König_ – in your language- The Nightmare King."

Rapunzel bit her lower lip, trying to remember if she had ever heard a name like that.

The Dark King.

It didn't really ring a bell but whoever this Pitch was, he was starting to give her the creeps.

"Rumor says that he was an official who was always overlooked, but due to his close diplomatic relationships with some countries, he had managed to get insider information and use it to his advantage to silently take over the government of that said country," Jack explained.

Rapunzel thought about the various laws and facts from her International Relations class and she concluded that this was not a normal affair.

"That's strange, wouldn't the governments have internal defense against threats like this?" Rapunzel questioned; her gaze skeptic.

Jack huffed. "That's the thing, Princess, he works from the _inside_, and he has spies everywhere working for him."

"Spies? Wh-"

"The intricacy of his tactics always leave even the best defense minister flustered and he uses his vague position in the shadows as an advantage to unravel governments from within," Jack cut her off, giving her a hard look.

"Pitch is a very sketchy, dark character and I've been told that so far, trying to throw a punch at him is like leaving a child waddling in the dark. Extremely onerous."

"So, are yo...like a spy too?" she questioned, seemingly unbelieving of his every word.

Jack looked taken aback. "I'm far from a spy, Princess."

"I'm with an organization called the Guardians that work side by side to help countries' internal defense to exterminate criminals like Pitch Black," Jack paused as he cast a look towards the path to Corona. "Your country was just the starting point."

"Mine?" Rapunzel squeaked. "What could _he_ want with Corona?"

Jack sighed. "We're not exactly sure of his alibi but we suspect it has something to do with revenge or either he's finding something."

"It doesn't help that the Guardians' major headquarters have been destroyed very much like…" he trailed off but Rapunzel knew what he was trying to say.

"All our records, our data, every single file – destroyed."

Rapunzel stared at him with wide eyes. "H-How?"

"Like I said, Princess, he has too much people on the other side and whoever they are…" Jack clenched his teeth.

"Are the Guardians' organizations going to keep tabs on what happens in Corona?" Rapunzel questioned, trying not to get her hopes up.

Maybe they would know where her country's defense organization had taken her parents.

The location was kept a secret for many purposes; to avoid unwanted leakage of information, a false statement from the media. Her family could be anywhere now.

Jack was silent for a moment. "I hope so," was all he said.

"What do you me-"

"They don't know I'm here on this mission. I overheard a conversation once using a bug I installed in Germany's airline com and heard that a plane with the name 'Seraphina' was coming through" a thoughtful pause. "I suspected something was wrong – don't ask me how – and I traced him all the way to a little off-known country called Corona out near the Baltic Sea but when I arrived, it was too late."

Rapunzel stifled a shudder.

"I've been trying to track him for a few months but he keeps evading me and…" Jack gritted his teeth so as not to tell everything and anything to the Princess right now.

With her wide eyes, trusting expression and nervously chewed bottom lip, he couldn't help but wanting to spill his thoughts to her. Jack wondered- did she have this kind of effect on everyone?

He had even almost told her the real reason why he was so keen to find Pitch but that thought disarmed him, making him think it was foolish child wishing.

But still… Pitch had answers. Answers that Jack wanted desperately.

Oh yes, Pitch and Jack went a long way back with each other.

"The men, they spoke about a 'flower'…" Rapunzel said with a grimace on her expression as she remembered the ordeal.

Jack's gaze hardened as well. "I wish I knew what they were saying too, Princess."

She breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself. What the hell was going on anyway?

Jack noticed her lost look and his heart silently went out to her. Lying down on the logs, he gave her a passive stare. "I think maybe we should rest, before we figure out what to do for tomorrow," Jack suggested as Rapunzel merely nodded.

She curled up in a ball, her knees under her chin. "I hope so," she said in a small voice.

Jack silently watched as her eyes drooped close and he stood up, deciding to keep watch instead.

He cast a furtive glance in her direction before removing the arrow from his boot, running his calloused fingers over the thin shaft, sharp head and feathery nock, contemplating.

Yes, there would always be a tomorrow...


End file.
